From Kansas to Kentucky

On September 16th Doug and Holly Hansen loaded up their trailer with a Prairie Schooner, a Freight Wagon, a Mud Wagon, and a Chuck Wagon. They headed south and their first stop was the Santa Fe Trail Rendezvous in Ft. Larned, Kansas. This event was very informative with speakers from all over the country providing knowledge on the theme “Communication on the Santa Fe Trail”. On September 18th we showcased our lynch pin 1840's Prairie Schooner and Doug's personal Mud Wagon at the Fort. Doug even had the change to hitch his Mud Wagon to a team of Ken Wasserman's mules and deliver mail with Dr. Leo Oliva portraying Private Robert Morris Peck. Doug gave a talk on the construction and history of the Schooner, Mud Wagon and early Escort Wagon. Greg and Joann Van Covern gave a lecture about their spring wagon and John Deere farm wagon. The event participants ended the day with a delicious dinner served in the quartermasters store house. http://www.santafetrail.org/symposium.php

Ft. Larned - Doug and another speaker, Greg Van Covern

Ft. Larned - Doug Explaining the Construction of a Mud Wagon

Ft. Larned -Taking the Mud Wagon for a Test Drive

Ft. Larned -Doug Joined the Ride and Helped Deliver the Mail

Next the Hansen's headed East to the Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis, MO. They had the opportunity to study and research an original Schooner equipped with a steel skein and lynch pin. This wagon is a great example of the early American West's vehicles (circa 1850's). There was also a great reproduction Concord stagecoach and an early ox cart. http://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/museum-of-westward-expansion.htm

Museum of Westward Expansion - Original Prairie Schooner with Steel Skein and Lynch Pin

Museum of Westward Expansion - Replica Concord Stagecoach

Early Ox Cart

The final leg of their journey was the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop was was chosen to provide historic horse drawn vehicles to represent early western American history. The vehicles we provided were a Freight Wagon, a Mud Wagon, a Chuck Wagon and a Prairie Schooner. The vehicles are going to be incorporated into the obstacle course for the the 4 in hand driving competition. After the setup we toured the grounds and were astonished by the substantial size of the complex. http://www.alltechfeigames.com/

World Equestrian Games - World Equestrian Games Grandstands

World Equestrian Games - Doug and Holly Moving the Chuck Wagon into Position

                World Equestrian Games - Doug Placing the Bows on the Freight Wagon

World Equestrian Games - Setting up Doug's Mud Wagon

 

 

 

World Equestrian Games - Restored 1840's Lynch Pin Prairie Schooner

August News

We have just completed restoring this original Newton chuck wagon for Grether Land and Cattle of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This wagon is equipped with everything but the cookie! It is set up like a traditional cowboy camp and is ready for some Dutch oven cooking. We are proud to have our wagon showcased on the beautiful setting of Grether Ranch. Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop would like to thank Grether Land and Cattle for choosing Hansen Wheel to build their chuck wagon.



This beautiful Concord buggy belongs to Bear Ranch of Colorado. This buggy is a perfect fit for the mountainous terrain of Colorado with its three-reach side suspension. The body of this buggy is more elegant than the typical piano box buggy. This is the fourth project we have completed for Bear Ranch. We would like to thank them for being great repeat customers.

This is a new Concord stagecoach being assembled for Tom Ungurean. It is a replica of an original coach in the Los Angeles Wells Fargo Museum. This 9-passenger coach would have been similar to those that carried mail across the continent prior to the expansion of railroads into the West. Jerome and Joel are currently ironing the running gear while Ivan is assembling the side rails of the body.

Trichter's stagecoach is nearly finished and is now undergoing the upholstery process. Both boots are constructed out of a reddish brown leather and accented with brass. The inside of the coach is currently being installed by Seth and Andrew. In a few days this coach will be on its running gear and ready to hitch.

The shop is currently strewn with parts from an original Studebaker Sprinkler Wagon. With a restoration this precise, it becomes necessary to rebuild the wagon in different segments. During the first segment the 5th wheel platform assembly was reconstructed (shown in top photo). This was a huge task because of the many components, angles, and depths. The wheels are also currently being assembled. The next step is going to be restoring the wooden tank (shown directly above).

We were happy to be able to finish this Concord coach in time for Cheyenne's 2010 Frontier Days! If you were fortunate enough to take in Frontier Days, then you would have seen this coach driven in the parades and at the grand opening of the rodeo events. This vehicle is the flagship for promoting the annual rodeo which has taken place every year since 1897! Thank you for choosing Hansen Wheel to construct you a beautiful coach to showcase your events.

This is the body for the original M.P. Henderson surrey being restored for Melanie Brooker. The body is now finished, waiting for an extention top and leather upholstery to be applied.

Mid Summer Update

Wagonhound's Mud Wagon is complete. Not only did Doug take this coach for a test drive on site, he also joined Jim Patrick & Steve Swanson on their trip to Wagonhound Ranch to cook for a cattle drive. Jim Patrick brought his Peter Schuttler Wagon to serve a Dutch oven cooked meal.

This is a gorgeous hitch wagon restored for Kirk Messenger. This hitch wagon was previously owned, so we customized the lettering and logo for the Messenger Hitch and gave the overall finish some attention. This wagon provides a rustic look with an all natural wood finish and chrome accents.

Georgeson's Concord buggy is finished, looking rich with its black leather upholstery and dash.

Another project was recently finished and delivered for Ft. Laramie. This is a cannon limber which was used to carry shot and gunpowder for cannons. The two wheeled carts were hitched to a horse team and the cannon was attached to the limber.

Here is a rare sprinkler wagon that was recently added to Hansen Wheel and Wagon's collection. Our collection consists of over 50 unique vehicles. This sprinkler wagon has a wooden tank as opposed to the metal one featured in our December 2009 blog post. This vehicle is not currently for sale. Once it is revived it will be for sale in our instock vehicles section.

May Update

We recently finished three unique vehicles for Sun Valley Resort. All three of these vehicles are indigenous to the western terrain. We felt fortunate to be chosen to restore these pieces of history. Information we found while undergoing restoration was original lettering under the paint on the Yellowstone coach and we found that Studebaker was the maker of the buckboard. Although the buckboard has a rough appearance we decided to keep it in original condition to be used as a work vehicle. They are currently en route to join the Sun Valley Collection in Idaho.

Below is the beginning of a restoration of an original M.P. Henderson & Son surrey for Melanie Brooker. We are very excited to have the chance of restoring such a rare piece. M.P. Henderson & Son was a famous wagon and coach builder from Stockton California. So far we are finished with the restoration of the undercarriage of this vehicle. We are very impressed with the attention to detail M. P. Henderson & Son put into the construction of this surrey. The finished product will have a rustic natural finish and contrasting black hardware.

Wagonhound's Mud Wagon stagecoach which was in our most recent blog is already nearing completion. The staining, striping, and lettering are already finished. Also Seth has upholstered the canvas top and has began working on the leather interior. We look forward to setting this coach's body on its running gear and seeing the finished product. Doug will be delivering this coach May 27th. Joining Doug will be Jim Patrick with his chuck wagon to feed Wagonhound Ranch's hungry cowboys as they drive 3000 yearlings to their summer pasture.

This original Concord buggy belongs to the Georgeson's from Nebraska. They stopped by the shop earlier this spring to discuss the decoration of their buggy. The idea they came up with was a monogram and roses on the oval body panel with a black fine line striping the undercarriage. The upholstery will be top grain black leather.

Cheyenne Frontier Days stagecoach is almost complete, we chose to accent the rich red body with chestnut colored boots. Wayne Troyer did a beautiful job on the mural of two bull buffaloes on prairie terrain. If you would like to see this stagecoach in person it will be in the upcoming 2010 Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade which will take place July 23rd-August 1st. This rodeo takes place in Cheyenne, WY. For more information visit their website at http://www.cfdrodeo.com/.

This buckboard was another project built for Gary Tritcher. This is our "Cow Boss" buckboard which is equipped with a toolbox under the seat and the rear seat is removable. This is a unique vehicle of American design which uses floor boards as it's suspension. This buckboard will keep it's natural finish to give it western flavor.


Tritcher's stagecoach was just coated with a beautiful paint job. It included striping, a mural, and wonderful scroll work on the bottom half of the body. Wayne Troyer recommended the full scroll so that it would give the essence of the stagecoach era. The mural is a lone bull buffalo which is a great symbol of the west to ornament the door. This stagecoach will be used in parades and wild west exhibits in the future.

March 26th Update

Jerome is back to working on Wagonhound's Mud Wagon. Stain finish has been applied to the bottom of the body. He will spend the afternoon sandblasting the irons. Next he will paint all the ironwork.



Seth is starting the leatherwork on Cheyenne Frontier Days front and rear boots. A lot of upholstery goes into a stagecoach the seats, boots and most importantly the thorough-braces. Thorough-braces are straps of leather cured to the strength of steel and strung in pairs to support the body of a stagecoach and enable it to swing back and forth. This cradle-like motion absorbs the shocks of the road. Thorough braces are carefully fashioned and elaborate in arrangement, and it usually requires the hides of more than a dozen cattle to provide enough leather for a single coach.



The original upholstery pattern is finished on Sun Valley's original mountain wagon. All that are left is the finishing touches and it will be ready to hitch.



Here is Joe's finished wagon turned restaurant booth. As you can see the sides were extended outward to accommodate comfortable seating. This wagon will be a unique dining experience for anyone.



Brian's Prairie Schooner's panels have been installed along with the tool and jockey boxes. Today he is going to start on the spray paint job.

Spring is Here and the Shop is FULL of Vehicles!

Sun Valley's mountain wagon top and curtains are finished. Now Seth is in the process of copying the original upholstery pattern. It will have a stitched back roll pattern, in leather.



This Prairie Schooner is going to be on display at Scott's Bluff National Monument in Gering, Nebraska. The whole construction process will be the same as it was in 1840's with all chamfers spoke shaven , and hand-forged hardware. Jerome is working on the wood axle which will be clouted with iron. This technique is a primitive but period correct method. In this photo the mortise and tenon box frame is ready for Brian to install the panels.



Seth has tufted the seats to match the original pattern of this Studebaker buckboard. This rustic piece is ready for display at Sun Valley Resort.



Jerome finished installing the boots and Joel has hand-forged the hardware on Cheyenne Frontier Days' coach; it is now waiting in line at the upholstery shop.



Gary Tritcher's coach body construction is complete and it is now ready for the painting process.



Brian just finished the Dean Sheep Wagon. This original Wyoming wagon has been restored with all the trimmings of an 1880’s sheep camp.



Bodoh's phaeton is on its running gear and ready for upholstery.



This original John Deere wagon is going to be used in a western restaurant in Canada. The wagon will be an actual booth for customers to be served meals in.



Our wheelwright Tim likes to take a break from the wheel shop. Here is a look at a replica British Revolutionary War cannon he just completed, just needs an ammo box and it is ready to fire.